Neighbour Sued Shah said: “There was a young man in the road. Someone was holding him crying. I’ve never seen such a ­heinous crime. It’s just inhumane.”

Speaking about the possible cause of the attacks, Councillor Mariam Khan said: “There are lots of rumours circulating but I have heard that it involved two people from Afghanistan and another from Pakistan. It is unclear what triggered the violence but it could be rival gangs.”